Steve Bell Joins the Bipartisan Policy Center

Capitol Hill veteran will specialize in energy and fiscal policy

WASHINGTON, March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) announced today that after 26 years of service on Capitol Hill, Steve Bell is joining the staff of the BPC as a Visiting Scholar. Most recently, Bell was Chief of Staff to Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM).

"We welcome Steve and look forward to his counsel at the BPC," said BPC Founder and President Jason Grumet. "His wealth of knowledge, particularly on budgetary matters, and his years of experience on Capitol Hill and Wall Street, will be invaluable to our projects. We are grateful to have his expertise at the BPC, especially during this time of economic uncertainty."

Former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell founded the BPC in 2007. The BPC is dedicated to finding bipartisan, politically viable solutions to the country's most pressing public policy challenges. Currently the BPC is focused on projects in the areas of energy, health care, transportation, national security, homeland security and science policy. Bell will support all BPC projects, primarily focusing on the National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP) and fiscal policy.

In addition to his work with the BPC, Bell is the founder of the consulting firm, Steve Bell, LLC. For the past eight years, Bell served as Chief of Staff to Senator Domenici. He was responsible for directing and implementing all of Senator Domenici's work, including issues related to the Senate Budget Committee, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee. "Steve's work in the Senate demonstrated his ability to garner bipartisan support on tough issues. I know his contributions to the BPC will be significant and we look forward to having him on our team," said BPC Executive Vice President Cameron Lynch.

From 1986 to 1996, Bell was the Managing Director at Salomon Brothers and opened the company's Washington, D.C. office. In that role, he was chief political advisor to the firm's Chairman and provided political analysis to Salomon Brothers clients. During this time, Bell was also a regular contributor on CNN.

Bell was nominated by President Reagan to the Federal Thrift Savings Plan Board and later confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He served in that position from 1987 to 1992. Earlier, from 1974 to 1986, Bell served on Senator Domenici's staff, first as Communications Director and later as a defense and energy budget analyst. From 1981 until 1986, he was Staff Director of the Senate Budget Committee, under the chairmanship of Senator Domenici.

Senator Domenici retired from the U.S. Senate in January 2009 and is now working at the BPC as a Senior Fellow, focusing on energy and transportation policy.

"I have been incredibly fortunate to work with Steve and am very excited that he will be working alongside me at the Bipartisan Policy Center. His keen knowledge of the political process, which I observed while we worked together for many years on Capitol Hill, will be a tremendous asset to the Bipartisan Policy Center," said Senator Domenici.

About the BipartisanPolicyCenter:

In 2007, former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell formed the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) to develop and promote solutions that can attract the public support and political momentum to achieve real progress. The BPC acts as an incubator for policy efforts that engage top political figures, advocates, academics, and business leaders in the art of principled compromise. For more information please visit our website: http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/